Manchester United hygiene inspection uncovers 'mould growth' and 'rotting metal shelves'... and they STILL can't get their five-star rating back after it plummeted when corporate guests suffered food poisoning

A follow-up hygiene inspection at Manchester United – after the club was handed the lowest possible rating following an episode of food poisoning – has unearthed a series of further issues.

Mould was found growing in a dishwasher and grease was spotted ‘dripping down a wall’ while ‘rotting metal shelves’ were discovered in a store room when officials paid Old Trafford a return visit.

In December, Mail Sport revealed that United had been slapped with a one-star rating after guests were served raw chicken at a corporate event. Inspectors said the club needed ‘major improvement’ with those affected attending a Safety Health Environment Show, which was held at the venue in November.

They were called in after complaints were made by attendees, with a batch of undercooked chicken thighs thought to have been the culprit. United said the incident was ‘isolated’ and that everyone at the club was determined to regain our 5-star status ‘as quickly as possible’.

Another visit from inspectors was arranged and Mail Sport can reveal that while it found that the club had ‘undertaken a lot of work’ since the poisoning incident, it also stopped short of returning United to the top 5-star rating, instead issuing it with 4 stars.

Indeed, the follow-up inspection found a variety of additional, grubby issues. Mould growth and debris were identified in a dishwasher while a gas pipe was in a ‘greasy condition’. Elsewhere, extraction canopy filters were ‘dusty’, while an emergency button in a walk-in fridge was ‘dirty’.

Grease was found to be ‘dripping down a wall’ in a dry store area in the Red Café, with United ordered to undertake a deep clean, which would remove any fire risk.

A gas pipe to a grill at the same venue was found to be not properly connected to the fixed pipe work while several gas appliances did not have safety chains connected.

Metal shelving in a store room was also found to be ‘starting to rot’.

United believe it is rare for an establishment to go from 1-5 stars and feel they will be upgraded at the next inspection. They point out that they serve more than 250,000 people over the course of each season and successfully deliver 300 external events each year, with 8,000 people catered for at every match across 28 kitchens.

The report said: ’The club has undertaken a lot of work since this (the prior inspection), however, the continued demonstration of the implementation of revised procedures is required to enable the confidence in management score to be increased further.’

While United were given an ‘A’ for compliance with food hygiene and safety procedures they could only net a ‘C’ for compliance with structural requirement and a ‘C’ for confidence in management/control procedures.

A Manchester United spokesman said: ‘As the report states, significant improvement work was undertaken by the club to increase our rating to 4-stars between November and February. This is an incremental process, and we are confident we will regain our 5-star rating at the earliest possible opportunity.’